Sebastian rolled his eyes and moved to Anya's old seat. After setting down he sighed and considered sleeping through class... He couldn't use Spirit as an attack, not unless he wanted to suffer a severe migraine later, compulsion as an attack wasn't a fun thing and sometimes when you actively called on the darkness of it it was hard to put it away again. He considered the fact that he had some ability over the elements but not enough for any real useful attacks... As a distraction maybe. A little fire in the face of a Strigoi would be enough to throw it off a moment and buy some time but going head to head with compulsion against a strigoi... spirit user or not... he was pretty sure he'd lose. Strigoi were powerful compulsion users... far more powerful than Moroi who were forbidden to use it in most normal cases.

He heard Rae talking to Gabby again about bringing a friend and snorted dryly, "You must not be talking about any of HER friends... I don't recall any of the Dhampirs actually enjoying her company and they're the only 'busty' beings in this school... And everyone wonders why I prefer them."

Oh yeah, he could be a vulgar ass when he wanted to be and blending was sadly the only way to survive within Moroi Royal Society. He hated it, hated the games, but he was good at them when he aimed to be... He just usually stayed out of it all but hell... Where was the fun when you weren't pissing the prudes off?

~*~

Aleksander nodded as he watched his students run through their warm ups, he'd have them work on agility training later... jumps, balancing, etc... for now though...

"Now we will run through what you all remember from the previous year... While you are sparring remember that I am judging you, I will be separating you all into five groups and each of the groups will be ranked differently and will be working on different things. If I think you are excellent and ready to proceed to further training without the review you will be in group one... If I think you have forgotten everything you have been taught or are not taking this class seriously... You will be in group five... Group five will not only be reviewing what they learned the previous year but they will also be taking extra classes with other Guardians in their free time." There were groans and Alex looked unamused, "This is to save your life or the life of your future ward... take it seriously."

~*~

Anna watched Aleksander and arched a brow, "He's really intense this year, I guess because he knows that we're going to be out in the world after this... It's his last chance to prepare us. I don't know why anyone would disregard that..."

She shook her head then turned back to Gunner, "Ready Pretty Boy?"

The nickname was one she'd given him in freshman year when she'd left a scrawny kid behind and come back to a muscled and skilled fighter, he'd been so proud of his new frame that she'd teasingly given him a hard time. Now though, she used it as a term of endearment... kinda... it was still a jibe.

Anna wiped her sweating palms on her black pants and slipped into a defensive stance, one she knew she'd need at the beginning of this since... as usual... Gunner would be ahead of her in practice. She had changed into her sparring outfit (think Rose's outfit from the VA movie) the moment she'd hit the locker rooms before entering the Gym... She'd been ahead of everyone so she'd had time... barely.

"Remember... no holding back," she winked and held up her hands defensively before giving him the 'bring it' gesture her face and posture going all business. She'd need to focus to pick up on what he'd learned while she'd been away.

(Kseniya)

Niya had been shifting nervously until she heard the Guardian in the front speak their native tongue. A little smile spread across all of the Russian students before their faces went back to concentrated squints. They were having to translate his English words while he spoke. With a little blush and blink she turned her head to Serena. "Heh, I hope you don't go easy on me." She whispered it before they were all told to start stretching. With a smile Niya did her stretches, working her way to the splits before she worked on her back and lower legs. She kept hearing her back pop when she leaned up, making her laugh a little.

When she glanced over at Gunner and Anna, another group, she shook her head. They were a perfect pair. Honestly she hoped that they ended up with charges that were close to each other. It was funny when Dhampir's ended up with charges that brought them closer together. It meant that they wouldn't have to go through life with another species as their only company.

When Guardian Belikov spoke again she stood and finished with her arm warm ups before she leaned towards Serena. "I might be able to help you with a few of the commands. Sometimes they used English commands during practice in case we had an English partner.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Trishia)

The bell had already run and she wasn't even in the room. She felt like a student again before she stepped through door, pulling a few strands of purple hair behind her left ear. Her books slammed down on the desk when she put them down, making her jump, before she looked up and smiled at the class. "Hello everyone. I hope you had a good breakfast." She blinked and frowned before motioning for everyone to stand up. "Alrighty...this is a senior class so I expect all of you to know what you'd specialized in and to know a little about how to use it. Or hopefully a lot....if you've been practicing. So we'll jump right in to usage. Now everyone split up into groups by element, and I'll come around to give each of you your assignments. The directions are fully on the paper but I will help anyone who needs it."

With those directions, and with some of the students milling towards each other, she smacked her forehead. "Sorry, sorry. Alrighty, fire in the back left, water in the back right, air front left, and earth front right. Spirit users come up here with me after I pass out the papers." She started around the room, handing the first people she came to in each group a few pages of papers. Once she'd made it the whole way around she stood at the front waiting for her spirit user to come around.

---

(Gabriella )

It had been a few moments until Rae had come over, but with a smile Gabby nodded to him. "Hey there hot stuff." She didn't mind when he put his feet on her desk, she knew his shoes would be mostly spotless, but she did pick at the laces absentmindedly. "And that is a shame...I loved coming over for a good night." Sebastians interruption made her pinch her lips, her green/blue eyes narrowing. "For your information I have a few Dhampir companions, that actually like me. And second, there ...are one or two Moroi who have as wonderful tits as I do." She pressed her C cups together before sticking out her tongue.

At that Miss. Matila finally walked in. She looked like a student still, but once she got to work she was a pretty nice teacher, though she'd push her students to the breaking point sometimes. Slamming her books down made most of the students jump, along with her, before she started to instruct everyone. Gabby didn't like that she was having to leave Rae, he was too much fun, but she went to the left side of the room, slipping down to sit on one of the desks. Once the "leader" of their group got the papers she quickly snatched them away, reading through them allowed. " 'Air Users' Start off with some simple currents, pushing and pulling, before moving on to directing specific air motions. See me after you can hit one of the erasers of the board ten times. For the next part of your assignment see me, we will be visiting some of your teachers that have volunteered.'" The end of the not left it at that, an eerie foreshadowing.

Gunner looked at her and shrugged, his face dark, "Not everyone gets how dangerous the Strigoi are... How strong they are."

He stood finishing off his warm up when Anna stood, seeming to prepare herself. He smirked when she called him pretty boy but the smile quickly faded. Guardian Robot was fully in place and he took a stance as well. After a moment, he did exactly as she asked and did not hold back. Besides, he was always a little curious on how she reacted when she didn't know all of his moves and couldn't be as prepared to fight him as she would be later in the year.
~
Serena looked at Niya, a little surprised when she whispered to her about not going easy on her. Serena rarely ever went easy on someone. With being short and slim as she was, she had less power behind her than most girls her age. Add the fact that she was female, she was at a disadvantage to the guys. Serena didn't get the chance to go easy on someone. All the same, she gave the girl a nod.

Once Guardian Belikov addressed them again, Serena prepared herself. She walked away from the wall and looked at Niya when she leaned close, whispering that she could help with the commands. She shook her head, "Hearing them in English again won't help. Easiest, would being hearing it in Italiano... but it is okay. I'll get by."

She moved and took a defensive stance, "Shall we begin?"
~
Rae ignored Sebastian entirely, keeping his eyes on Gabby. She, however, did not ignore Sebastian in the slightest. Rae chuckled a little at her outrage, he had a feeling, if and when he made into her room that night, it was going to be interesting. He dropped his feet off of her desk when Ms. Matila walked into the classroom. He watched her as she jumped from the own dropping of her books. He smirked, this woman was a nutcase.

He stood when they spilt them up, giving Gabby the smallest of nods in response to him leaving. He walked to the back of the classroom with the other Moroi who controlled fire. He smiled at them all, knowing most of them from years before. He jumped up onto a desk and sat on the table as he waited for their assignment to get to them and finally a piece of paper with said assignment to get to him.

(Kseniya)

Niya gave a little laugh when Serena said it wouldn't help to hear in English. "Of course I wouldn't say it again in English. I'd just show you." She laughed a little harder and got into a loose stands, it was defensive but it would give her less time to move out of it. Niya always had a loose way of fighting, but it worked better than most of the rigid postures the other trainies used. Her hands were flat, the thumbs flat with the palm, and with Serena's question she nodded. As they began she rose up on her feet slightly, getting on the balls so that she could bounce, jump and roll if needed.

With a smile she took the offensive, using her speed to go for the other girls throat. She cupped her hand so that she would just knock the wind out of her, wanting to use the surprise, if it landed, to duck under her arm and spin kick her feet out from under her. That was of course if she landed the hit on Serena's throat, which she'd hopefully had a little amount of surprise for. The whole time she kept her eyes on the other girls face, ready to read which way she was going so that she could roll away.

As Gunner came at her Anna was ready. She dodged his first few attacks, using her faster speed and lighter steps to dance around him. It wasn't easy, he was skilled and he'd gotten much better at stringing his attacks together and he was keeping her on the defensive... Not giving her the chance to attack.

After a moment, once she'd gotten into his pace and picked up on some of the new things he was throwing at her and shook off some of the rust from her downtime over their break the real fight began as she finally broke out of her all defensive style and started throwing a few attacks of her own. As another of his punches came at her she ducked under it, dropping nearly to the floor to sweep her leg under his, keeping her hands up in case of an attempt to connect his knee with her face which would be a logical way to abort her attack before she managed it. All the while, she remained alert... prepared for him to counter. She knew better than to let him grab her though, he was stronger than her and despite her speed, if he got his hands on her or managed to box her in closer to the wall (which was where their station was) it would be hard to get away again.

Though her mind was completely focused a determined grim smile curved her lips, he might yet beat her again. There was no banter from her this time... all her breath was being saved for the fight because Gunner had gotten faster and she was barely managing to avoid him. He'd connected a few times with her blocking and so her arms and legs were going to be bruised, her palms stinging from it later.

~*~

Aleksander watched his students as he made his rounds and occasionally shouted corrections, "Andrew... Keep your hands up.... Markus don't extend your arm so much when you throw your punches, it leaves you open and it takes away from your control."

His eyes landed on Serena and Kseniya, they seemed to still be feeling each other out but their actions were practiced and skillful... purposeful. He nodded and turned his attention to Gunner and Anna, they were fully engaged in their fight, treating each other as opponents rather than best friends which was something he admired. They were both serious when it came to their training... as it seemed Serena and Kseniya were also. He had seen Niya's record as well as Serena's and he was expecting great things from both of them... and was eager to see it for himself.

Anna seemed to be a little unpolished in comparison to the way Gunner made his attacks flow but as usual her more chaotic style worked for her... but Gunner was more in practice than Anna from the time he'd spent at the Academy while she'd been gone. The only thing saving her was the fact that she was slightly faster and was able to learn quickly... Actually, she was learning FROM Gunner as they fought. Her improvising and his skill, along with their ability to set aside personal relations would make them a good team if they ever had the same ward.

~*~

Sebastian was used to being ignored, as the other students got into their groups Sebastian went up front to join Ms. Matila. He wondered what it was she'd have in store for him, perhaps grading the papers? "You called," he asked lazily as his eyes remained on the others in the room watching them practice with a bit of secret envy. Why couldn't he have specialized in something useful rather than something that would drive him insane if used... Sure, he could do some amazing things. Healing people and dragging people back from death... bringing back strigoi... all impressive... all things he would never do because it came at a cost he wasn't willing to pay... At least, not when he could stop himself. Sometimes the magic took over and he'd find himself drawn to dying animals or wounded ones and before he could think twice his hand was on them and they were better... and he was not.

Serena was ready when Niya made her move. The girl was fast, however, so was Serena. She barely blinked when Niya went for her throat. Instead of ducking under her arm and out of the way. Serena grabbed the wrist and lifted it away from her target. Once it was in the air, she spun under her arm, placing her back to the girl. Serena pulled forward, using Niya's momentum against her, something always being the smaller opponent taught her well. She stuck her hip out to catch the girl, intending to roll her up and over her hip and onto the ground.

Niya knew what was happening the moment her wrist was grabbed, she could feel the twist in Serena's body before she pulled. Almost by instinct she jump as she was pulled, wrapping one arm around the other girls throat while her legs went around her hips. Since they were almost similar in height it wasn't much of a jump up. She started to pull back on the other girls neck, making more of a wrestling sleeper hold than anything else. She also bent her hand down so that she could grip the girls wrist as well, not wanting her own broken.

Serena stumbled slightly when she felt Niya jump onto her back. She felt the girl's arm snake around her neck, pulling back, but Serena refused to break the momentum of moving forward. She felt Niya's hand grab one of her wrists, both of them holding tightly to the other girl's and grimaced. Using the extra weight that was now on her, Serena pitched herself forward. She felt her feet escape the ground a moment before she landed on top of Niya. With the impact to the ground, Serena quickly removed the girl's arm from around her neck and rolled off of her. A moment later, she was back on her feet and watching her carefully.

Niya sucked in a large lung full of air as they fell back so that she wouldn't get winded before she scrambled out from under the other girl. She kept backing up, getting out of strike range before she jumped back up, standing loosely. Her mouth was in a straight line, though she was having a lot of fun. This time she took another defensive stance, waiting for Serena to make the first move, she thought it was only fair.

Serena's movements were fluid, everything ran into the next thing. She liked to keep up momentum. However, the two girls came to a stand still, both eyeing the other. All the nativity and gentleness, the shyness, was gone from Serena's face. Were she back in Italy, she might not have been so serious. The people there knew her and she knew them. She didn't have anything to prove. Here, she did.

After a few seconds, Serena realized Niya was waiting to be attacked. Although Serena didn't like going on offensive from a stand still, she normally transition into it, she had a feeling Niya was not going to attack. So, she began her own. They had shifted in positions, Niya's back was now facing the wall. I would be harder to fight back in Serena gave her less room and that was exactly what she intended. She moved to the girl, punching, kicking, not so much to inflict damage to move the girl backwards, moving fast enough to leave her on her heel.

Niya's eyes kept watching Serena's muscles, her eyes flickering quickly over her body. When the other girls finally went on attack she gave a quick smile. At the first few kicks she couldn't get the rythm, but once her punches kicked in his finally was able to count. It took until her back hit the wall that she caught the girls right foot. With a quick jerk she twisted it backwards, meaning to get the other girl to turn around,...or break her ankle. That was honestly Serena's choice. This was what Niya did when backed into a corner, it was either to break whatever was attacking or be beaten.

Serena didn't feel the pressure on her foot as she pushed Niya that last of the way to the wall. She barely heard the crack. However, when she stepped back onto her foot, a shooting pain rose up her leg, causing her to yelp quietly. Her leg gave out from under her as she fell to the ground. She closed her eyes tightly, trying push away and control the pain that throbbed in her ankle. She wasn't sure if it was in America or Russia that they did these things, but she was a little taken back to have a bone broken, on purpose, in practice. There was rarely reason to break a Strigoi's body and even with advance healing, it would put a novice out a few weeks. She cursed under her breath in Italian as she clutched her leg.
~
Gunner kept a straight face as he fought Anna. He always liked fighting with her. Although he'd never tell her, he liked when it was later in the year and she knew all of his moves. The two of them practically dance around each other then. It always amazed him how well they knew each other. He noticed her dip down and instantly jumped, knowing want to expect. He shook his head and used her low positioning against her. Grabbing her arm that she used to defend her face, holding it, he pushed her onto her back, pushing his own weight onto her. As they fell, he grabbed her other arm and managed to pin to the mat under him. He smirked at her, "Seems like you need some practice."

He heard a small yelp and looked up to see Serena fall to the ground. At first he thought nothing of it, until he saw her clutching at her leg. He released Anna and jumped to his feet. There was a slightly troubled look on his face as he looked at the Italian, "Do.. You think it is broken?" he asked Anna as he held out his hand to help her to her feet.

Anna gave a grunt as her back hit the mat and then laughed softly blowing a loose strand of hair from her face, "Good thing that's what I've got you for," she teased. She sighed with an amused shake of her head, "I knew if you got hold of me it was over, you've gotten faster."

As they both heard a yelp Anna tilted her head back to see what had happened at the same time Gunner looked up and Serena fell to the ground. Anna grimaced at the odd way Serena's ankle looked. "Yeah... I think so." She slipped to her feet as Gunner released her and headed over to the two of them, her face grim. "I'll help her to the infirmary, Gunner... give me a hand?"

It wasn't odd for someone to get honestly injured during practice, they were supposed to take them seriously, but most avoided moves that would intentionally break bone. Because she didn't trust herself not to sound irritated, Anna avoided saying anything to Niya. It wasn't that she was honestly angry at Niya, she understood taking things too seriously... Hell, Gunner had almost broken her wrist one year... nearly knocked her ass out from air loss another when he'd gotten her in a sleeper hold and hadn't realized just how tight he'd nabbed her. The point was, Gunner had always stopped when he realized he was close to doing serious injury... this had just gotten out of hand. Anna hated seeing any of her friends hurt though, that was the real source of her irritation... Gunner would probably be more understanding but Anna was... overly protective.

She helped Niya up and to keep the weight off her leg as she spotted the teacher headed over.

~*~

Aleksander had seen what had happened and headed over, "Anna and Gunner, you two are ahead of the class so you may take Serena to the infirmary."

Then, he turned his attention to Kseniya. On the one hand her fighting style, and Serena's, had been impressive... the two had just been a poor match. Both of them were too volatile in a fight. "I would like to speak to you alone... This way."

He led Kseniya away from the others and then turned to face her again and spoke in Russian, hoping to make her feel a little better...

"Во-первых я должен ругать вас. Это хорошо принять бой серьезно, когда в будущем ваша жизнь может быть на линии. Я призываю такие вещи, реалистичные драки имеет важное значение. Однако, здесь мы удерживать себя от фактически ломать кости... остановка перед тем, как добраться до этой точки. У вас есть навык, но вы также должны научить себя дисциплинировать... сдержанность. Эти вещи важны также против стригоев. Если вы не знаете, когда остановить вашего прихода могли быть умерщвлены, пока вы слишком заняты, продолжение борьбы."



He smiled kindly and then continued, "Тем не менее вы весьма квалифицированных, как боец. Форма очень хорошо, ваши движения потока. У вас есть потенциал, чтобы стать большой Guardian один день... Из-за этого вы и я буду иметь один на один из уроков на некоторое время. Я помогу вам научиться сдержанности... Как я уже сказал, не зная, когда остановить можно получить вас и вашего прихода убит. Я буду учить вас это."



He sat a hand on her shoulder, "Do not worry about Serena. She will be fine... Anna will not stay angry."

~*~

As class went on Sebastian sighed, he jumped slightly though when his phone went off. He checked it quickly before putting it away before Ms. Matila saw him with it.

Anna: might not c u after class. serena broke ankle, taking her 2 infirmary w gunner.

He frowned, he'd never understand why Guardians felt the need to train so hard that they broke things. Still, the idea of one of his friends hurting had his palms tingling and the magic in him stirring, warming him with it's glow. He frowned, the infirmary would take care of Serena... cast her leg.

He sighed, but that would mean she'd be out of class and out of practice for a good portion of the year and even though he didn't know her very well he suspected that news would upset her badly.

Without even asking he informed Ms. Matila, "I'm not feeling well..."

With that he left the class and jogged downstairs... Yeah, he'd probably regret this later but what the hell good were his abilities if he didn't use them at least for his friends? Anna and Gunner would help him cope with the fall out later... maybe he should feel guilty for relying on them so much for support but who else was he going to trust with his crazy ass?

He got to the infirmary before they did and lingered outside the door waiting.

Serena didn't looked down at her foot, too worried about how it would look. Pain pulsed through it as she tried to keep the feeling buried. She'd been through worse. Serena looked up at Anna when she stood over her and helped her to her feet and off of the broken one. She leaned into her and gave her a grateful smile. She looked at Guardian Belikov when he came over, allowing Anna and Gunner to go to the infirmary. Anna looked at Niya and gave her a small smile. Serena hadn't been expecting her to actually break her ankle, she hadn't been worried about it, they were in class. She felt bad, she could have moved and gotten her ankle out of the way entirely, of course that would have give Niya an opening. She just hoped that she didn't get in too much trouble.

Gunner took Serena's free arm and wrapped in around his shoulder. Serena nearly hung between the two of them, her good foot just touching the ground. When the got out of the room, Gunner saw Anna pull out her phone. He grimaced, "You know he is going to be there now."

He knew exactly what she was doing. Informing Sebastian on what was happening and where they would be. He sighed and sure enough, when they reach the infirmary, there was Sebastian. Gunner met his eye, "This isn't a little bruise, Seb... It'll take a toll on you."

Serena looked between the two of them then realized what they were talking about. She looked at Sebastian, he had to be awfully caring if he wanted to heal her ankle, he barely knew her. If anything she learnt about Spirit was true, it would feed the darkness in him. She didn't want to be apart of that. She gave him a small smile, "It's alright.... It should heal..." She decided not to inform him how long she could be out of class for. She'd be there just not hands on. Although, she still wasn't sure he was very convinced. She removed her arms from Anna and Gunner and limped over to the infirmary door, "You two have to go figure out your wards... Go. I'll be fine," She glanced at Sebastian, "I am okay."

She didn't know what he could see with his auras but she just hopped he couldn't see that she was lying.

(Kseniya)

Niya stood by as they helped Serena up, having a feeling that if she touched her they would get angry. Instead she put her hands in her pockets and followed Guardian Belikov over to the side. With the first instruction from him she grimaced. "Но сэр, что не имеет никакого смысла. Мы не собираемся отступать в реальной борьбе, люди должны знать, что нарушение будет чувствовать себя."



She gave a little nodd as he continued, rubbing her arms slightly. "Если вы считаете, что поможет .... Я сделаю все, что необходимо." Her fingers gripped her jeans tightly, her world sort of turning upside down at the thought of retreating. That was something she was taught not to do. Honestly she didn't know where this guy had been in Russia, but there was only one school for Siberian students and that would have had to be the one he was at. She wondered how he'd gotten out of breaking bone in his school years. "Надеюсь, что нет .... они единственные друзья, которых я .... вроде есть."

---

(Trishia)

It had been a few moments since they had started class and Trishia was waiting from a text so that she could bring Sebastian down to Sonya. The teacher had come out of the Royal Court to help her teach the spirit users in her class, though they'd also told her that the students needed to learn how to stake because that was where they could help the most. Just as Sebastian, who she could see had just checked his phone, said he was about to leave her phone buzzed. Sonya had sent "Bring him down. =D I'm ready." It was always so funny when Sonya and Trishia got together, two oddly bubbly spirits mingling together. Sonya of course had her darker moments, sometimes slipping into the madness of spirits dark side.

Trishia looked for one of the people she could leave in charge of the class, before her eyes fell on Basil. "Basil, could you please watch the class? Make sure the fire users don't burn anything down please?" And with that she shot off from the desk, running after Sebastian. While she was on the move she texted Sonya to meet them at the infirmary. Maybe Sonya could help Sebastian in whatever he planned to do there.

Once they were all in the room Trishia stood back, letting the friends be around Serena before she noticed a red head bobbing over to them. Sonya was wearing what looked like a hiking outfit, complete with a satchel. There was a small smile flitting over Trishia's face before she looked back at the students.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------
(Sonya)

There was nothing like wearing hiking gear, some how it made you feel like you could do anything, and it made people look at you funny when you weren't hiking. Sonya smiled and shook her head as she made her way into the infirmary. Her friend had moved their teaching date from her room the the sick beds, which made....not a lot of sense, but nothing had to make sense so that was okay. The door opened to let her in and it smelled like any hospital would, sterile and clean. Sonya remembered laying in one of the beds for days....just laying there....listening to the voices, until they'd stopped. They'd stopped when she'd killed someone...With a quick shake of her head she told herself to stop thinking about all of that. She couldn't take it back, not that she wanted to, since she'd found a way to escape everything. Life was better now, though. She had a few spirit user friend and they all traded spirit rings to help each other cope.

Her mind was lost in though as she stood on the far end of the infirmary, before she felt the sparks of a spirit user start to climb up in an aura. She started walking that way, soon finding a male spirit user, along with Trishia. With a wave to both she looked at the girl who was walking away. "Oh dear...we'll have to fix fix fix won't we?" She started towards the girl, smiling a little. She had no clue that she sounded like she'd just sounded like a skipping record.

Serena looked at the woman who joined them. She didn't have a clue who she was but she was talking like a broken record. She took another step away from the small group. She just wanted to get into the infirmary and have them patch her up, she didn't want a bedside army. She could only imagine what they'd find out. What if the doctor wanted to check everything, make sure nothing else was wrong. What if she found her scar and told the headmistress? Would she get kicked out of school? What did it matter, she'd be out a good month with her ankle being injured. She limped back again, putting more distance been them, her eyes wide and wild as she looked at all the people around her. All the people who could figure out her secret. Her heart started to race, what if they already knew what if Sebastian told them all? He said he wouldn't... But did she know him that well to know that he wouldn't. Her back hit the wall and she felt trapped.

Gunner noticed Serena's clear distress and quickly moved to Sebastian. He grabbed his friend's arm, "Take her in there... Heal her if you have to... just get her away from us..." He looked at her again, "She's hiding something... and you know what it is... She'll feel better if it is just you, I'm sure," he looked at his friend, all the while speaking in a low voice, "If you do heal her, she has to stick around for what it does to you."

That was Gunner's rule. He didn't have to enforce it often. It was rare for Sebastian to heal anyone but Anya. It was a rule he made so that people saw what it could and would do to him, it kept them from trying to take advantage of his skills. He gave Sebastian and gentle push to Serena before grabbing Anna's hand. He looked at the two older women, "Uh.... Sebastian wants to stick around with Serena... Just Sebastian," he said slightly sternly. Sure, he wasn't a teacher and he had absolutely no authority over these women. He just hoped they would respect Serena's space and leave her with Seb. He hoped her panic attack would subside when there weren't so many people around. She didn't seem to be a people person. He then pulled Anna away from the injured girl, "We'll figure out who your ward is, Serena."

She wasn't listening though. Her eyes were locked on Sebastian. Gunner had said something about her hiding something. Sebastian hadn't told anyone. She tugged at her turtle neck, pulling it higher onto her neck, not taking her eyes off Sebastian.
~
Basil looked at Ms. Matila as she ran out of the room. Strange. All the same, she'd make sure that nothing was destroyed or broken. That being said she didn't stop the groups from distracting themselves from their work and focusing on each other, chatting away. She had a rock in her hand and was enjoying breaking and piecing it back together. She stared at it only keeping an acute awareness that the class had indeed not yet been set on fire.
~
Rae watched as Ms. Matila left the room, instructing Basil not to let his group burn anything. She didn't have much to worry about though. The moment she left, they all stopped working. He walked over to the air user corner and sat on the desk smiling at Gabby. He lit a small fire in his hand and looked at her, "Can you blow it out?"

Normally Anna would resist being escorted away from a hurt friend but the look on Serena's face kept her from it... that and the fact that Gunner looked so concerned.

"What I think gunner is trying to say is that Serena is still upset and all of us being here is making her uncomfortable.... I'm sure Seb will return to class after he makes sure she is alright...."

When he mentioned wards her mind snapped back to her other duties. "Bye Serena.... get well soon."

~*~

Sebastian recognise the aura of another spirit user in the room and then the user herself and actually was grateful for what had to be ms. Matila's attempt to help him in class but he knew that Serena wouldn't be a good test subject for his lessons... she was still too anxious.

"I promise I will be back to class or if you want you can wait outside the room till I'm done. Serena doesn't really like to be touched and I will be alright to help her myself... Thank you Ms. Karp, and you too ms. Matila. I might actually learn something useful this year with another spirit user in the mix..."

He waited until they decided what to do and then, after they had given them the room he met Serena's gaze and gave her a tired smile as he walked over. He pushed up his sleeves and then knelt down in front of her, his hand cupping the back of her calf as he rolled her pants leg up, careful not to hurt her....

His eyes flicked up and met hers as he used the hand not on her calf to cup her ankle... "You might feel an odd warmth or a tingle, no pain though so try to relax..."

Turning his eyes back to her ankle he then closed them and felt the magic stir. It welled up inside him... light, laughter, memories, happiness, and joy. He felt all of it and he felt it leave him as he poured it into her, healing her ankle in second and leaving him empty of it after.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and swayed to his feet as he released her ankle. He leaned against the wall tiredly as he tried to look more casual than exhausted. It had been a long time since he had healed anything that serious.

"There you go... all bet-" he froze as momentarily the face he was looking at wasn't Serena... blonde hair covered a black eye and a sad smile curved familiar lips. He cringed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes and tried desperately to will the memory away. His free hand shook and he wasn't even aware that he had laughed darkly, the sound semi anguished. God his subconscious was a bitch.

"Scarves and hair bruises and bones, one a ghost and one unknown..." he laughed again bitterly knowing he made no sense. "Shit it hit fast this time... Go on ahead. I'm going to... rest." Or try to anyway. He doubted he would with Anya and his guilt dancing in his head...

His hands still shook and his knees practicality gave when he collapsed onto one of the beds in the infirmary.

~*~

Aleksander sighed... this is why guardians knew that the students were never really ready for reality no matter how hard they tried to ready them. There were some things you learned, hard lessons, you only discovered in field... like that fighting wasn't always an option.

"Say a pair of strigoi attack and while you are fighting one the other takes your ward. Do you kill the partner or show restraint and take him alive to interrogate and find your ward? Say you are suddenly overwhelmed by a group, do you continue to fight knowing you will lose and leave your ward unprotected or do you swallow your pride and retreat in order to get your ward to safety. It is not about the broken bone it is about discipline and knowing when to restrain yourself.... I hope you can understand this?"

He wasn't trying to be an ass but she needed to understand that guardianship was more about the split second life or death decisions and protection than fighting blindly.

Serena watched the two women leave him and her alone before her eyes caught Sebastian walking toward her. She pressed herself further against then wall, never taking her eyes off him. She watched as he rolled up his sleeves before crouching down and rolling up her pant leg. She looked down at him and he gingerly held her leg. Once he began to explain how it was going to feel, she realized what it was he was going to do, "No. Smettila!"

However, he did not stop and she felt the warm he spoke of spread across her ankle. Her eyes widened slightly as the pain slipped away. She looked at him, amazed even with the toll it was taking on him being clear. She watched as he swayed to his feet before leaning against the wall. She put pressure onto her foot, feeling as good as new. Her attention snapped back to Sebastian when he laughed darkly. She listened as he spoke nonsense before making comment to how quickly it happened. She followed behind him slightly as he walked to the bed before collapsing onto it. She moved to his side and helped him onto it entirely. She gave him a small smile, "I will stay. They are not.. um... expecting me back anyway. An-na and Gunner will find out my ward for me... It better that I stay with you."

She grabbed a chair and sat next to him. Gunner would have known how quickly Sebastian could heal her. He wouldn't have suggested that they find out her ward for her. He wanted her to stay with Sebastian, for whatever reason. She looked at him, taking her hair out of her bun, "You did not need to do that you know... It would have healed on its own... But... Grazie."
~
Gunner pulled Anna along and let out a sigh. He ran his hand through his hair, "What I was trying to say, it they needed to piss off," he looked down at her and smirked, "Although, I do suppose that your way was less likely to wind me up in detention."

He realized he was still holding her hand and quickly released it, "I don't think... I've ever seen someone that freaked out... just around people... Even..." He hesitated, this wasn't a topic any of them liked to talk about, "Anya... wasn't that bad."

(Kseniya)

Niya listend to her instructor, but didn't understand what he was trying to imply. "Of course you would leave the strigoi you were fighting to go after your ward. There would not be any contest in anyones mind." She nodded folded her arms over her chest. "This was as if it were fighting by myself. Mina is not here anymore, I don't have my ward." There was a tremble to Niya's lip as she thought of Mina Lazar, the girl she had been paired with since she was small. That was one thing her school had implemented a few years before, officially, since they'd been doing it for years before. They paired young Dhampirs with wards so that they would be able to practice with a live Moroi and never have to switch from training to job.

With a quick glance at the other students she bit her bottom lip. "I understand now though...to not break my fellow students bodies..." She rubbed her arms up and down with cold hands.

---

(Trishia&Sonya)

The kids seemed so shakey, especially the foreign girl. This made Sonya frown before she looked at the other Spirit user. She would see the magic building as he got closer to the girl. With the ask for privacey Sonya grabbed Trishia's arm and pulled her into the hall way, showing more strenth than it looked like she had. The young purple haired girl followed the red head quietly, glancing back at the boy and girl before looking at Anna and Gunner. The door closed and Trishia sighed, watching the two teens walk out of the infirmary. Then she turned to Sonya.

"Mr.Karp....I know it isn't your problem, but could you possibly go down to the Guardian Combat class and ask Aleksander if he would mind teaching Sebastian how to stake a strigoi?" The woman looked slightly worried about what the outcome of the request would be, but she supposed she'd know the answer soon enough from the man's own mouth. Sonya took off after a few moments, saying that she'd come back to the class room soon enough.

---

(Sonya)

The request was fine with Sonya, going to the Guardian part of the school this time of day would take her right in line with Mykhail. It took her all of five minutes to be in the Senior Training room. She could see Aleks watching his trainees, making a beeline to him from the door. Her red head bobbed up to him and she smiled. "Hello Guardian Belikov number two." She laughed at the little inside joke with Dimitri. "Trishia sent me over with a request, I hope you don't mind. She'd like you to train someone.....if you have the time."

---

(Trishia)

Trishia came off of the wall and went back up out of the infirmary, headed for her class room. She hoped that the students wouldn't be doing anything stupid.

The noise from her class room made her cheeks burn red. They weren't been too loud but were loud enough. She stepped into the room and blinked, seeing different elements being used against other elements. It was all friendly, mostly...at least..maybe. She frown and bunched up her shoulders before she walked into the middle of the room. "Enough, everyone sit down. I'm sorry for having to leave so suddenly, but if we could get back to our practices, that would be nice. Thank you. ...That means you Rae, please return to the fire side." She picked up a few papers from the floor and tapped her nails on her desk.

---

(Gabby)
[five minutes before]
The air users in her class sure were a boring lot. She'd been balancing her chair on the back legs before Rae had came over and dumped into the chair beside her. She'd been blowing little breezes through some papers on the desk for a few moments and stopped when he lit the fire. Her eyes went large and she smiled. "Oh dear heh...that seems like it'll be no challenge...or boring. Aren't you usually above this type of thing." She stuck her tongue out and threw an arrow of air at his spit fire. She chewed her gum a little faster, trying to use a hard burst of air rather than the lazy ones she usually did.

Sebastian's grey-green eyes opened slightly as she said she would stay with him, because of the use of Spirit he could not block out the glow of her aura. He sighed softly, "Gunner tell you to stay?"

It wasn't that he didn't appreciate it, her staying and Gunner's protectiveness, but sometimes he felt like a sideshow... at least she wasn't looking at him like he was insane... yet. As she let down her hair he was forced to close his eyes again as images of Anya danced around in his mind. She was either dead or a Strigoi right now so it would do him no good to think about her but his spirit darkened mind didn't think so. Thinking about her as a Strigoi was something he probably should have avoided because now the image of red eyes and pale skin ruined the image he had of her. His hands still shook as the one came back up and he rested his arm across his eyes, trying to retake control of his emotions and his mind.

"I know you would have healed... but it would have taken most of the school year which would have taken you out of classes. When I... brushed against your mind I got a feel for the type of person you are. You would have been miserable. Besides, what is the use of having my abilities if I don't use them on friends?"

~*~

Aleksander nodded at Niya though he wished he could help her to understand better. He'd read her file and he knew of her previous ward, he knew the reason behind her determination not to fail again. Maybe Gunner and Anna would be better for her than he'd realized at first... He spotted Sonya headed his way and right behind her came Anna and Gunner. The rest of the class still worked so he looked to Niya, "Head to one of the practice stations... you may choose which. He took a piece of paper off the clip board on the table behind him and handed it to her. Your ward is Rae Costa, this paper has details on him which you will need to know to better protect him. I will speak to you again in our next class."

"Gunner, Anna... come and get your papers. You may take Serena's also."

As Sonya came over he smiled kindly, "How are you Sonya? Have you seen my uncle recently?"

~*~

Anna smiled at him as he pushed his hand through his hair in frustration... She stomped on the odd little butterflies that danced around in her stomach when he did that, especially when he looked at her like- She squashed that line of thought. Gunner would never see her like that, ever and she needed to stop thinking that way before she ruined their friendship. "That was the goal," she teased. "You know how bored I get during detention... and then we'd be forced to sneak out again like we did last year... get caught by a Guardian. Good times..."

Still, the warmth of his hand was a steady distraction till he seemed to realize he still had hold of her and quickly released it. She rubbed the palm of that hand against her pants, trying to rid it of it's tingling. "Yeah, I noticed that too..."

At the mention of Anya, Anna gave a soft sigh. "I worry about Seb sometimes... He gets in those moods and he looks so distant. I worry that he might try to go find her one day and it could get him killed."

As Aleksander called to them both Anna went over and nabbed all three papers before Gunner could get his, playfully dancing away from him so he couldn't snatch it before she saw who his Ward was. "Oooh... Gabby, you got Gabby." She handed him the paper and grimaced, "Good luck with that."

As she looked at her own paper she blinked, she knew of Basil but she didn't really know the girl well. "Apparently, I got Basil... Damn, if they didn't give either of us to Sebastian who got him? I don't like it, someone else won't know how to deal with his moods... or what comes along with them."

She shook her head and looked at Serena's paper... "Oh... Serena got Seb."

Serena looked at Sebastian and shook her head, "No... But he did not tell me to rush back to class either... I think it best that I stay here."

She leaned her arms on the bed and looked at him as he spoke. She smiled slightly, "You think we are friends?" She removed his eyes from him and looked at the wall, "I like that... but... Now it seems like you are... miserable. And your friends do not like seeing that."

She looked back at him, resting her head on her hand, "You know... You know lots about me now... And I know niente about you," She gave him a small smile and moved the chai, she sat on, further up the bed, "I think we should play a gioco... A... um... A game, a question game. You learn about me from me and I from you," He looked troubled by something, "It might take your mind of... whatever it is that is troubling you."
~
Gunner shook his head, "No, no getting caught sneaking out of detention. I don't need any horrid black marks on my record," He grinned at her.

His face fell when she mentioned Sebastian going off to try and find Anya. He wrapped an arm around Anna, "Well... He is a Royal and gets to request us... and we know that he will... Then we can prevent him from doing that."

He released her again when they reached the training building and walked inside to have Guardian Belikov tell them to grab their papers, presenting their wards. Anna ran over and grabbed them all. He watched as she playfully danced around him. He reached out to grab her a couple times but, although he was faster, he was not faster than her. She managed to looked at his paper before handing it to him. He looked down at it, "Well, she's pretty. And if we do night duty. I get to sleep in her room," He winked, even though it meant nothing. Anna knew Gunner wouldn't risk a surprise attack to be in bed with a girl he didn't really like or know.

He grimaced when Anna read her own, not Sebastian. He didn't like it one bit. When Anna looked at Serena's, Gunner cocked an eyebrow, "Do you think those two are going to be able to be around each other? With Sebastian accidentally sweeping her mind and... Well.... Serena's even giving us memories of Anya..."
~
Rae looked at Gabby and shrugged, "I'm just trying to better your abilities," he smirked, "You can't do much to Strigoi after all, can you?"

He winked at her and felt the gust of wind burst into his palm. He looked at her and smiled as his fire flickered before raging on. He didn't get to do much else before Ms. Matila waked back in and scolded him for being on the wrong side of class. He rolled his eyes and walked to the back. Taking a seat, he leaned back in it and sighed. He started playing with the fire in his hand. Making it bigger and smaller, while trying to keep it in control. God, this was boring.
~
Basil only glanced up at Ms. Matila when she returned. Good, she wasn't in charge anymore. She kept playing with her rock in her seat.

(Kseniya)

The man still looked troubled after Niya got done talking. Honestly she didn't understand why he was so odd about breaking bones. As she was handed the packet and told her Moroi's name, she squinted slightly, not knowing who it was. With a nod she headed off, looking at his class schedule to find out he was in attack class. She didn't know exactly where the Moroi classes were, but she could wonder around for a bit, looking for them.

---

(Sonya)

Sonya twirled a bit of her hair while Alek spoke to his students, she kept bringing it over her upper lip and blowing out. Once Alek was speaking to her she blinked and smiled. "I've been fine. Mykhail and I moved the other week so that we could have an actual house closer to the school." She nodded and swayed for a moment before thinking of his next question. "Oh, I saw Dimitri about a week ago. We sat down and talked about the night mares again." Her arms wrapped around her chest and she sighed.

Suddenly she pouted. "Oh yes. Trishia. Um...what did she want to say....oh I don't remember anymore. Just talk to her later. She'll know what she wanted. And I'm sure you wouldn't mind talking to her more." She'd seen the slight flare up of his aura as she'd said Trishia's name.

---

(Trishia)

With Rae back in his proper place and the groups getting back to normal she nodded and sighed. It seemed none of them needed her at the moment so she started going through papers on her desk. Humming softly. She hoped that she could get Sebastian training soon.

---

(Gabby)

Honestly it was frustrating when she couldn't do something with her Element. She had almost leaned over and licked Rae's face, but had restrained herself from doing so. Mr. Matila had come in and now everyone was having to go back to their seats and play school. The air user looked at her friend across the room, making hand motions to signal that they should meet up after school, even if they had to deal with the novice Guardians. There were so many other things she could have been doing with her time, but no, she had to go play pretend with a bunch of Dhampir. Why couldn't they just practice and go right into work.

Anna nodded, "I suppose it depends on whether or not Seb can see her as her own person or if he sees her as a reminder of Anya. I think she is different enough that he'll pull through it. I think it will be tough on him at first though."

She sighed and tugged her hair up into a pony-tail again to get it out of her face before scanning over her paper again. "I guess we should hunt our Moroi down since we're supposed to get acquainted. Bleh... Remember freshman year when you got Anya and I got Seb? Yeah, those were the days."

She blinked as he joked about going to Gabby's room, "Uh-huh... crushin' on Moroi girls huh? I knew I wasn't your type," she teased. Still, there was a kernel of truth there. She'd accepted a long time ago that if Gunner ever did 'settle down' it would be with a Moroi and well... even if he had been interested, and he wasn't, SHE wasn't a Moroi. Besides, Gunner tended to follow the rules on things he considered big nonos... Guardian and Guardian relationships were still hugely frowned upon, even with the success of Guardian Belikov and Guardain Hathaway's relationship and their loyalty to their Wards. Plus, Dhampir pairs couldn't have kids and most Guardians found it their duty to find a nice Moroi they could associate with even if it wasn't love and have kids to become little Guardians in the future... It was honestly a better life than the one they could have in a commune... Anna, on the other hand, planned to never have kids.

Pulling herself out of that line of thought she turned it back towards the duties of the present. Honestly, it was a great idea, the whole pairing up of the Dhampir and Moroi students during their entire highschool years instead of just as a test at the end. It got the Moroi who wanted Guardian's put to work early off the Queen's back but it let the Dhampir parents feel that their children were being able to enjoy what time they had to be kids... Guardian Belikov and Guardian Hathaway had been the ones to suggest it to the Queen and it had been implemented in all the Academies around the world in their freshman year. Though they almost never kept the same Ward in different years unless requested by both parties, in order to give the Dhampirs a variety of personalities to deal with in the field, it was still a very clever idea.

"Let's go... I want to get there before the bell rings and that's in... five." She trotted down the hall and to the Moroi class, slipping inside. She waved to Ms. Matila and then glanced at her paper before, thankfully, bypassing Rae and heading over to Basil. She had dodged getting Rae four years in a row... she was probably the luckiest Dhampir gal alive. She greeted Basil with a slight nod, "My name is Angelina Ross, I'll be your Guardian this year."

~*~

Aleksander smiled at the mention of his family and then nodded, "That must be nice... Living close to the school has its benefits."

As she mentioned Trishia he arched a brow curiously, he knew Spirit users could see auras and apparently this one was able to tell he enjoyed Trishia's company. "I will ask her... It probably had something to do with teaching the Moroi defense. I invited her to watch the lesson."

He watched the students file out one by one as they took their papers, "I heard from Rose that there is talk that a new hope in fighting the Strigoi has arisen... They are trying a tattoo given by a spirit wielder with spirit imbued powers on willing Dhampirs to see if it will prevent them from becoming Strigoi... Should it work we will have made huge headway."

~*~

Sebastian smiled wryly, eyes still shut. "Fair enough... Ask away, and don't worry about how personal a question is... I did sweep your mind. This is your chance to get revenge," he teased.

Honestly, he'd be willing to talk about anything right now, even Anya, if it meant keeping his mind busy. He could feel himself teetering on the edge of one of his dark fits and they scared him more than even the brief lapses of sanity he suffered sometimes.

Gunner nodded, there had been some under the table exchanges in their first year that had gotten him with Anya. Him and Sebastian never told her though, they figured it best to be thought an coincidence. He chuckled at Anna's comment, he shook his head, "If I was crushing on a Moroi girl, it would probably be anyone other than Gabby," He looked at her, "I like my girls to... not to have slept with half of the male population."

He watched as Anna seemed to slip into a weird trance for a moment before slipping right back out and ushering him down the hall. He laughed and followed her, walking in the Moroi class room. He didn't need to look at his picture to know exactly who Gabby was. She was loud, proud, and popular. It was more unlikely that he didn't know her, especially with her popularity among the men. He walked over to Gabby, holding her file under his arm. He gave her a curt nod, "Gunner Marks."
~
Basil looked up from her rock when a girl approached her, introducing herself. It didn't take long to patch together that she would be her guardian but the girl told her anyways. Basil didn't mind though. She smiled at her and nodded back, "Basil Tarus, although," She pointed to the file in Anna's hand, "I'm sure you already knew that."

She pursed her lips and held out of the rock to Anna, "Do you think you could hold this and take a few steps back? I want to see if I can still break it with some distance between us."
~
Serena smiled softly at Sebastian when he offered for her to get her revenge on him for sweeping her mind, "You said that was an accident."

She didn't feel like jumping into the serious life experiences right away, not yet sure what it was she could and could not ask about. She decided she would start small. She rested her chin on her hands as she leaned onto the bed, "What your favourite colour?"

Anna smiled and gave a nod, "I did, but it's nice to have an actual introduction. It keeps things friendly." As Basil held out the rock Anna obligingly took it and took a few steps back, holding the small stone in the palm of her hand. "This far enough?"

She would have glanced back to see how Gunner was fairing with his Ward so far but she wasn't sure if she wanted to see Gabby oogle him, and she probably would. Moroi guys didn't get particularly muscular, especially the royals that ran in Gabby's group, so a Dhampir guy was probably... Well, she wasn't going to go there. She had a Ward of her own to be distracted with rather than with Gunner.

She was pleased with her ward this time, it seemed that Basil was relatively easy going for a royal judging by her lack of prudishness when Anna had introduced herself. That was rare in a royal... at least the girl had smiled and introduced herself. It gave her hope that maybe their Guardian / Ward relationship wouldn't be a miserable one.

~*~

Sebastian opened his eyes as he arched an eyebrow momentarily before chuckling and closing them again. He hadn't expected such a simple question and it helped lighten his mood somewhat though his hands still shook and that dark irritation still lurked behind his eyes. "Mm... for such a simple question it doesn't have an easy answer." He hesitated, "I've never actually thought about it before..."

His eyes came open again, "I think... Gold maybe? It's the color auras turn when people are around someone who makes them truly happy... It's the color that I associate with people who are madly in love... in sync with each other. It makes me jealous but at the same time their auras are so bright and warm that it kinda radiates to the people around them..." He coughed, "Nevermind..." He grimaced, "That sounded corny. Perhaps I should have said black... like my soul," he put on a deep and ominous voice when he joked in the last bit.

"How about you? What's your color?"

(Kseniya)

Finally, after ten whole minutes, Niya found the stupid ruoom. She was flustered and her uniform felt clingy, but she looked at her packet again and then looked into the room. She spotted Anna and Gunner first, not knowing whether to wave at them or not, before she moved on and found the guy she was looking for. He was apparently royal, no doubt, but she'd been paired with a royal before. Of course Mina had been a fairly chilled out royal, loving mostly everyone, but some of her friends had been quite a bit more close minded.

As she approached the royal she eyed him and listened to him talk for a moment, before she stepped into his line of site. "You're Rae Costa aren't you? I'm Kseniya Zyomin. I will be your guardian for this coming year." She nodded at him before she looked over at Gunner and Anna, sighing, wanting her friends again. The royals around Rae had started to snicker, but Niya just put her hands on her hips and walked to one of the pillars in the class room, taking the usually guardian stance. She really didn't feel like talking to anyone.

---

(Trishia)

Trishia had forgotten for a moment that the seniors now guarded Moroi for the whole senior year, rather than just at the very end. She shook her head as Gunner and Anna came in, a small smile on her face, before she went back to her paper work. For a moment she was tempted to text Sonya and ask what Alek thought, but she knew it would sound weird and stalker-ish so she didn't. Instead she went to check on the groups. First was the earth users. "Hello ladies and gentlemen. How is the practice going? Anyone been able to do anything odd or ...you know...weapon like yet?" She had give them plenty of dirt and rocks to mold and crush, hoping that giving them free time with their abilities would make them understand them more. With a look from face to face, she hoped they'd open up to her a little bit.

---

(Gabby)

Gabby had been making Rae's hair flutter in is own personal breeze for a while, wondering when he'd notice, before some guy stood in her way. He was a lot....more build than she was used to in guys, but that was nothing unusual. She gave a shake of her head and looked up at him. "Well hey there Marks. Gabby Badica." She smirked a little and looked over her shoulder at the other royals. Most of the were snickering, since her last Guardian has asked for a different assignment when she'd used him for smothering practice. She needed someone to work her magic on and of course the kid has been sleeping in her room so...why the fuck not?

Her black finger nails clicking on the desk for a moment before she sighed. "I guess get on with your guardian shit. I'll be right here."

---

(Sonya)

Again Sonya smiled, watching his aura. Though the feelings were small for the moment, she had a feeling they would grow by leaps and bounds. They shared an aura, sort of like Rose and Dimitri, though more like a complimentary pair than the same one. "It will be good next period when she comes. " With a nod she sighed and started to sway from side to side, growing bored. "The tattoos are an odd idea, but it makes sense. If only the Moroi blood didn't cancel out things for us we could tattoo everyone and just...be over with it." She shook her head and smiled. "Oh well....we'll figure out something."

She stood there for a while, watching the students recognition as they read their charges. The flares in the auras were so funny, some being the soft pink of new love or friend ship, others the dark grey or black of hate. It just made her want to find out what had happened to cause those feelings. After a thought she decided against finding that stuff out, there were too many dark emotions. I should probably get back to Trishia. You could come along since all of your students are now either with her or another Moroi teacher. Unless you have something to do of course." She started out of the training room, headed for the Moroi classes.

---

(Ashton)

It had been a few days since the Strigoi had gotten there, smelling the fresh arrivals for the new school year. He sat perched on a tree as the last rays of the sun shone over the mountains before they disappeared completely. The stupid orb in the sky was just a waste of time. Life at the academy looked like it hadn't changed, or at least what he could see of it hadn't changed. There were students milling around, running to and from places....all quite odd. He was getting thirsty just looking at them.